Pages

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Since the beginning of 2014, Russia has
sold weapons and military equipment in the amount of two billion
dollars, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical
Cooperation, Alexander Fomin said.

"To date, Russia has
supplied military products to foreign customers in the amount of two
billion dollars," he said on the eve of the opening of FIDAE-2014 armory
show in Santiago (Chile). Fomin noted that the export orders portfolio
of the Russian Federation exceeded $47 billion as of March 2014.

For comparison, according to the results of 2013, Russia sold weapons
worth the total of $15.7 billion. In 2012, Russia outstripped the target
for the supply of arms and military equipment abroad by 11.8 %, having
exported products in the amount of 15.16 billion dollars, Fomin reported
in January 2013, emphasizing that those were only preliminary data. The
backlog of orders exceeded $46 billion then.

In ten years,
Russian arms exports and the volume of orders have tripled. According to
the report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI), Russia was among the countries that became the world's largest
arms suppliers from 2009 to 2013. Russia accounts for 27% of global arms
exports. The USA takes the lead with 29%.

A year ago, according to SIPRI, Russia supplied 23% of arms in the world, while the U.S. accounted for 30% of world exports.

Russia sells its arms and military
equipment to 52 countries of the world. In 2009-2013, three countries -
India, China and Algeria - accounted for more than a half of purchases.
Sixty-five percent of exports go to the Asia-Pacific region, followed by
Africa (14%) and Middle East (10%). Russia was the largest exporter of
vessels in the world; exports of airplanes accounted for 43%. In four
years, as many as 219 combat aircraft were sold.

In the summer
of 2013, at the Jubilee Air Show at Le Bourget, Russian aircraft was out
of competition. First contracts for "Alligator" and "Night Hunter"
helicopters were signed with Iraq. The agreement provides for the
purchase of arms in the amount of 4.3 billion dollars.

In
January 2014, it was reported that American actor and martial artist
Steven Seagal expressed his willingness to do promotion for Russian arms
products on the world market. The actor may sign a contract with
Kalashnikov Concern, which signed an exclusive contract for the supply
of arms products to the U.S. and Canada. The agreement was concluded on
January 14, during Shot Show 2014. The exports of the concern to these
countries are estimated from 80 to 200 thousand pieces per year.

At the same time, several countries have recently abandoned military
cooperation with Russia over Moscow's decision to make the formerly
Ukrainian Crimea a part of the Russian Federation. The West refers to
the move as "annexation." In particular, it goes about the UK and
Germany. London withdrew licenses for the delivery of military goods to
Russia, such as cloth for uniforms and various small parts for helmets.
The sum of these supplies is estimated at 37 million pounds.

Berlin, in turn, decided to suspend all military cooperation with Russia
in March and April of this year. According to the government's
decision, no transactions can be approved relating to the export of arms
and war material to Russia. Prior to that, Germany suspended the
construction of a military training center near Nizhny Novgorod. The
contract is worth 100 million euros.

France, however, decided not to cut its
military cooperation with Russia. Paris could refuse from delivering
French Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, but such measures would
hit France most.

Subscribe

How to read this blog

As many articles can be quite lengthy, the blog will display 5 posts per page. To view the rest of the day's articles click on "Older Posts" located below the last article. There will be 10-12 posts each day of publication. All post times are Sydney time.

Publication

i On Global Trends, published Tue to Sat inclusive (Sydney time) - although work and social commitments may result in slight variations

News and Opinions

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Copyright Mike Hitchen Online, Lane Cove, NSW 2066, Australia. ABN: 25 713 178 439 All rights reserved.Content may not be republished without the written consent of the publisher or an authorized representative